Sydney bursting at the seams

According to the Property Council of Australia, Sydney’s growth and development is a critical issue that requires expert advice and views from the community about how to make sure we grow well over the next 20 to 30 years.

With our city’s population increasing and housing affordability and cost of living important issues, we need to work together to look at ways our city and its built environment can be more efficient, environmentally friendly and enhance the character of our city.

“Communities will need to be solutions focused; Sydney is growing, that is a fact. Drawing battle lines and standing behind a banner of ‘we’re full’ is not adequate or helpful,” Property Council NSW executive director Jane Fitzgerald said today.

“Reports of opposition to a proposed development in Eastern Sydney that would provide 25 extra homes, more car parking and a community centre, on a car park site no less, is a disappointing contribution to the discussion.

“Rose Bay currently has a population density of 31.33 people per hectare – compare this to the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the UK where there is a density 130.8 people per hectare and we can gain some much needed perspective.

“People who live across Sydney must be able to benefit from our city’s growth, but they must also contribute to better overall outcomes for the community; we should not see some suburbs contributing more than others.

“In 2018 it’s no longer OK to expect Western Sydney to shoulder all of our city’s growth.

“We should all stick to known truths; we need 725,000 more homes by 2036, we need more infrastructure to cater for this growth and we need to find innovative ways to provide and fund this infrastructure – within this paradigm we must find solutions and compromises.

“Empowering our Councils to better plan for their growing communities, supporting experts to make decisions on planning, financial support for local infrastructure from the State Government and positive contributions from the community must all play a part.

“We can all do better when engaging with the issue of Sydney’s growth and 2018 should be the year when real strides are made to find solutions.”

Chris Fozard of the Budget Motel Chain says the Victorian government needs to work with Airbnb to find a solution, instead of hastily introducing laws as a “knee-jerk reaction” to the issue of disruptive and violent guests.